GUNS Magazine December 2011 Digital Edition

Thanks for the kind words. A: Your nice, little Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless was made • JEff JOhN • I have owned a Colt .32 ACP Q: Pocket Hammerless, which I purchased at a local gun show about Colt Pocket hammerless 15 years ago. I would estimate that it is in about 80- to 85-percent condition. The serial number is 412XXX. On the right side it says “Colt Automatic” and the line directly underneath that says “Calibre 32 Rimless Smokeless.” The pistol is shiny nickel. I have learned Colt manufactured this pistol mainly blued, but also made some nickel plated. I am curious to find out if this particular pistol was manufactured in nickel or John browning’s 1903 and 1908 colt pocket hammerless are among the best designed personal protection firearms ever, offering sleek lines and reliability with the full metal jacket ammuntion for which they were designed. this catalog page is from the 1924 colt catalog. plated sometime later. I’d also like to know when the gun was made and its approximate value. GUNS Magazine is great; I anxiously wait for it to be delivered. My friends (who also get the magazine) and I then get together and discuss the various articles. This adds greatly to our knowledge. Keep up the good work. Sam Klafter Sarasota, Fla. in 1923 according to the Book of Colt Firearms, by Sutherland and Wilson. A letter may be obtained from the Colt Historian, which will normally include how the pistol was originally finished; one for your pistol would cost $75. Contact the Colt Historian, (800) 962-2658 x1343 (Colt Mfg. Co., P.O. Box 1868, Hartford, CT 06114, www.coltsmfg.com) for a letter. Normally, in the era your gun was manufactured, only the Colt “horse” and the proofmarks on the triggerguard were stamped after polishing. They will show subtle cratering around the edges where the stamp displaced the metal. It is nearly impossible to re-polish the gun and not lose this subtlety. You may need a magnifying glass to see it. If in original condition as you describe, the little Colt should be worth around $550 or so, according to the 32nd Edition of the Blue Book of Gun Values, by S.P. Fjestad. I recently purchased a very Q: nice Colt 1908 hammerless automatic with serial number 154XX. More Pocket hammerless 42 WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • DECEMBER 2011